Massachusetts Workers' Compensation Lawyer Blog

Last Thursday, a North Andover Department of Public Works worker was injured. The explosion is under investigation; however, it is believed that the explosion may have been caused by fumes from a cutting torch.

Kenneth Wedge, 59, was using the acetylene torch to remove the top of a barrel. It exploded and surged 20 feet into the air, throwing Wedge about 5 feet. Wedge’s pants caught fire after the explosion, but he was able to snub out the flames by rolling on the ground. The accident victim endured second-degree burns and a broken right arm, but no internal injuries were found.

As a result of the accident, the DPW will institute new worker training to prevent future explosions and OSHA’s industrial accident division will examine reports and police photographs from the accident.

DPW explosion under investigation, WickedLocal.com November 19, 2008

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A volunteer firefighter in Provincetown, Massachusetts has been charged with speeding and operating a fire truck dangerously. The charges are the result of an investigation into a November 9 accident that totaled Provincetown’s only ladder truck.

The firefighter, Elias Martinez, 21, was driving the fire truck during a routine test. Investigators say the truck’s front wheel hit a curb and flipped over an estimated four times. Both Martinez and his passenger were treated for minor injuries at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis.

An accident reconstruction report prompted police to cite Martinez for speeding, as well as failure to use caution at an intersection and operating a vehicle negligently, a misdemeanor carrying a maximum sentence of two years.

The date for Martinez’s arraignment at Orleans District Court has not been set.

Massachusetts Firefighter Cited in Ladder Truck Crash, CMS.Firehouse.com, November 18, 2008

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Investigators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are examining the cause of a construction accident that claimed the life of a 21-year old construction worker. The worker was killed when a concrete pipe rolled onto him in the ditch where he was working to put in a storm drain system for a new housing division.

A representative from the local fire department said the pipe had to be lifted off the worker with heavy equipment. The pipe reportedly measured 8 feet long with a diameter of 30 inches. The construction accident victim was taken the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Authorities have confirmed that the worker was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the construction accident. The reason for the pipe’s movement is unknown.

Coroner: Man killed at job site not intoxicated, Denver Post, November 13, 2008

Grand Junction man dead in construction accident, KXRM.com, November 13, 2008

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A steel erection contractor in Marshfield, Massachusetts has been cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for a total of 14 alleged safety violations. Barco Metal Fabrication faces $55,600 in proposed fines as the result of an OSHA investigation prompted by an incident involving an employee who fell 20 feet at a Pembroke, Massachusetts worksite in June.

During the investigation, representatives from OSHA found construction workers performing steel erection work at heights of 20 feet without proper fall protection. Because OSHA’s standard requires use of an effective form of fall protection, like lanyard and safety belts, the contractor received a willful citation with a proposed fine of $28,000.

Other potential worker hazards included a lack of ladder safety training, damaged welding leads, lack of training on how to operate and recognize hazards related to aerial lifts, and other serious safety violations totaling $27,600 in fines. The contractor has 15 business days to meet with OSHA or contest the citations.

OSHA proposes $55,600 in fines against Marshfield, Mass., contractor following employee fall at Pembroke, Mass., jobsite, HR.CCH.com, November 5, 2008

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Last week a construction accident killed one worker and injured another. Police said that the two workers were putting a roof on a home around 11am when the accident occurred. The placed an aluminum ladder against the house, and the ladder struck something electrically charged.

By the time police arrived at the scene of the construction accident, the victim had already died. Police would not release his name until they had notified next of kin. The injured worker was transported to Fairmont General Hospital for treatment.

The construction accident is still under investigation by engineers from Allegheny Energy and officers from the Fairmont Police Department.

One man killed, another injured in construction accident, TradingMarkets.com, November 5, 2008

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A Dracut, Massachusetts construction company has been fined $14,700 by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration following the death of a construction worker on June 3. Robert Augeri, 31, a worker employed by Brox Industries was working on an overnight highway paving project on Interstate 495 when he was killed by a Mack drump truck. It was the first fatal accident in a Massachusetts Highway Department construction zone in more than a decade.

According to regional director for public affairs with the US Department of Labor, OSHA is still investigating the company that owned the dump truck. It has six months from the time of the construction accident to conclude its investigation.

Brox was cited for three different safety violations: not properly training each employee on how to avoid unsafe conditions, not adequately illuminating the work areas, and not developing safety programs for directing trucks in areas where workers are on foot. OSHA considers these violations to be serious, according to the citation.

OSHA fines company in worker's death on I-495, The Eagle-Tribune, November 1, 2008

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A service technician who was working on a new high school wing suffered electrical burns as the result of a construction-related accident. Paramedics arrived at the school where the accident occurred around 8:35 am. The accident victim was alert and able to answer questions when they arrived. He had sustained injuries to his left arm.

Officials say the technician was working on a boiler trying to put it into temporary service. The boiler was not in use at the time of the accident, and the man was working alone. He is an employee of a mechanical contracting firm based in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

The severity of his injuries is unknown but authorities say that they range between first and third degree burns. The construction accident victim’s name has not been released.

Worker burned in RB construction accident, RBLandmark.com, October 28, 2008

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Last Friday around 3pm, the fire department responded after reports of a collapsed structure at a construction site on Hawaii’s North Shore near Chun’s Reef.

Initially, the firefighters had expected to free a trapped person, but when they arrived at the scene of the accident, they discovered that the victim, a man in his 60s, was already freed.

He was treated for minor injuries at a nearby hospital.

"The initial report was there was a person that had been trapped by some collapse during a building construction project of a residential nature," said a fire department representative. "But before we even got there he was freed — how, I don't know. But we assessed that no other companies were needed."

Minor injury from North Shore construction accident, Honolulu Advertiser, October 24, 2008

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Last week, investigators identified the victim of a fatal construction accident in Clifton Park, New York. The accident victim was Brett Peck, 20, of Lennox, Massachusetts. Peck was installing a drainage pipe behind a home last Monday when the walls of a ditch collapsed, burying him alive.

Peck’s coworker, who had stepped from the work site for a moment, returned and discovered the drainage ditch accident. The Massachusetts construction worker was already dead by the time rescuers uncovered his head and shoulders. Unstable soil made it difficult for emergency crews to remove the victim’s body, but they were successful after several hours.

Federal safety regulations require construction workers to use a trench box to prevent a collapse. Representatives from the US Occupation Safety and Health Administration are investigating the construction accident to determine if these safety requirements were followed.

Worker killed when ditch collapses at NY job site, Associated Press, October 21, 2008

Worker killed in construction accident identified, CapitalNews9.com, October 21, 2008

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Earlier this fall just, a crane fell on a new middle school under construction in Rhode Island. The crane operator was warming up the machine when the boom fell onto exposed steel beams.

Fortunately, no one else was in the structure and none of the construction workers were injured. In the weeks preceding this incident, the United States experienced several crane accidents that left nine construction workers dead. In response to those accident, New York City’s Buildings Department had just issued guidelines on crane safety.

According to a spokesperson from the school construction site, the 290,000 square-foot project is big enough that crews can continue working on other parts of the building while the damaged steel beams are replaced.

On the Monday following the construction accident, investigators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration visited the job site.

Crane Falls on Rhode Island School under Construction, InsuranceJournal.com, October 2, 2008

Another crane topples on US building site, Building.co.uk, October 2, 2008

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In Waltham, Massachusetts at the campus of pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, a hydraulic lift fell and killed a construction worker. The construction site accident seriously injured another worker, who was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Waltham police said the hydraulic lift accident occurred just after 11am on October 10, when the lift collapsed, plunging the men about 30 feet. Peter Marchese, 40, died at the scene of the job site accident. The other injured worker will not been identified until police notify the 30-year-old’s family.

According to a joint statement released by AstraZeneca and Bovis Lend Lease, a project management and construction company at the job site, the two men were working on the expansion of a research and design facility, which was scheduled for completion in 2009. The workers were employed by Lymo Construction Co. in Merrimack and had been installing metal plates on the side of the building when the construction accident occurred.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is leading an investigation with assistance from the Massachusetts State Police, the Waltham Police Department, and the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office.

1 killed, 1 hurt in accident at job site, Boston Globe, October 11, 2008

Nashua man killed in construction accident, The Union Leader, October 11, 2008

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Employers who pay workers under the table or misclassify them as contractors make up a big part of the construction and trades industry, according to a forum held at Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester, Massachusetts. Worker and business representatives met with representatives from several state agencies to discuss the Underground Economy and Employee Misclassification.

The economic reality of employers hiring subcontractors who then subcontract to others or resort to illegal hiring practices makes it difficult for construction businesses to compete in the residential market, according to David S. Klein, president of an architectural metal and roofing contractor in Worcester.

In this underground economy, some companies pay construction workers in cash so that they can save on taxes, workers’ compensation insurance, and health insurance.

A Harvard University study conducted in 2004 estimated that about 125,725 Massachusetts workers (including over 7,000 construction workers) were misclassified as independent contractors between 2001 and 2003. The study also estimated that employers could be denying the state up to $91 million in workers’ compensation payments.

Skirting of state hiring laws focus of forum, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, September 23, 2008

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